Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania volleyball team opened their road trip in California with a 3-2 win over the Seattle University Redhawks, followed by a 3-1 victory over the host UC-Riverside Highlanders. The Quakers improved to 7-1 on the year, eclipsing their win total from all of last season.
 
SEATTLE
The Quakers fell into a 7-0 hole to open the match, but quickly responded, taking the first set 26-24. Parker Jones and Margaret Planek played large roles from the start, recording six of the Quakers first 11 points in the set.
 
In the second set, the Redhawks had a response, notching 25-19 win. Eight attack errors doomed the Quakers, who saw their hitting percentage drop from .211 in the first set to .100 in the second. However, the Quakers came out firing in the third set, obliterating the Redhawks defense. The Quakers committed just one attack error and notched a .458 hitting percentage in a 25-11 victory.
 
In the fourth, the Redhawks responded with a strong effort on their end, defeating the Quakers 25-14. The Redhawks fourth set attack mirrored that of the Quakers in the third, with a .478 hitting percentage. However, the Quakers held on and controlled the decisive fifth set 15-9. Jones finished with 16 kills, while Kylie Kulinski turned in 45 assists, as the Quakers notched their fifth straight win.
 
UC-RIVERSIDE
From the first serve, the first set was a back and forth battle, with the Quakers maintaining a lead late in the set, until the Highlanders stormed back for a 26-24 victory. However, the Quakers gave the hosts a taste of their own medicine, overcoming a late 22-19 second set deficit and stealing the second set 28-26.
 
In the third, the Quakers and Highlanders traded blows the whole set, tying each other at 20-20. From there, they two teams added four more ties, before two errors from the Highlanders were enough to give the Quakers a 26-24 win.
 
The fourth set proved to be the decisive one, as the Quakers delivered their strongest win of the match, by a final of 25-19. The set was punctuated by a Kylie Kulinski ace, to deliver the Quakers their sixth straight victory, the longest win streak since 2013 (six games).
 
 
Penn returns to action next Friday as they open Ivy League play with a battle at Princeton on September 27th, beginning at 7:00 p.m.